State v. Bornstein

Citations

• 196 Conn. App. 420

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been charged with the crimes of violation of a civil protection order and harassment in the second degree, appealed to this court from the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss the charges. The charges stemmed from interactions the defendant had with a juve- nile member of the softball team for which the defendant served as a volunteer coach. The juvenile and her mother had obtained an ex parte civil protection order against the defendant. At the hearing on the order, however, the court denied the request for a civil protection order. On the basis of the civil protection order hearing, the defendant moved to dismiss the criminal charges on the ground of collateral estoppel. The trial court denied the defendant's motion and the defendant appealed to this court. On appeal, the defendant claimed that the facts had been fully and fairly litigated in the civil protection order hearing and that allowing the state to pursue criminal charges based on those same facts implicated the right against double jeopardy. Held that this court lacked jurisdiction over the defendant's interlocutory appeal from the denial of a motion to dismiss; the defendant failed to put forth a colorable claim of double jeopardy because the civil protection order hearing was not a prosecution, which is brought only by only by public officials representing the state, whereas a civil protection order pursuant to statute (§ 46b-16a) may be sought by any person who has been the victim of certain conduct and the language of § 46b-16a (e) provides that a civil protection order proceeding does not preclude a criminal prosecution based on the same facts. Argued October 8, 2019—officially released March 10, 2020